Lead Veterinary Surgeon

Cinque Ports Vets is a well-established group serving pets and their owners across Kent and East Sussex. Each practice in the group has its own character and local client base, but they work closely together and share access to the wider group's clinical expertise and facilities.

Your main base will be Kingsnorth, home to our RCVS-accredited veterinary hospital. This is the clinical hub of the group, with a larger veterinary and nursing team and facilities supporting routine first-opinion work alongside more complex medical, surgical and diagnostic cases. There is also a 24-hour emergency service based at the hospital and provided by Vets Now, meaning our day team has access to a dedicated OOH service rather than carrying an OOH rota themselves.

Clinically, there is plenty to get excited about. Across the practices you'll have access to digital radiography, dental radiography and in-house laboratory facilities, while Kingsnorth has endoscopy and bronchoscopy, as well as laparoscopic surgery equipment. Rye also has laparoscopic equipment, giving a surgery-focused vet the opportunity to make good use of their skills and continue developing them.

The practices are also accredited by the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons, reflecting their commitment to professional standards and quality of care. Kingsnorth is an RCVS-accredited veterinary hospital, while Rye, Tenterden and Hawkhurst are RCVS-accredited veterinary practices.

There is a particularly strong focus on feline-friendly care. Kingsnorth is a Gold Cat Friendly Clinic, while Rye, Tenterden and Hawkhurst are Silver Cat Friendly Clinics. These accreditations recognise the team's investment in feline-specific facilities, equipment, handling and patient care.

Each branch has a Clinical Nursing Manager, giving the veterinary team strong nursing leadership and support. Kingsnorth has the largest clinical team, while the smaller branches offer something different: closer-knit teams, strong client relationships and the opportunity to become a familiar and trusted clinician within the local community.

The team is bubbly, friendly and down to earth, with a no-nonsense approach to getting things done. There's plenty of experience to learn from, but this isn't a culture where hierarchy gets in the way. We want someone who will get stuck in, share their knowledge, ask questions, support colleagues and bring their own ideas to the table. Cinque Ports is being revamped. Could you help lead it?!

The role is deliberately varied. Your working week is likely to be broadly split between hospital work, consulting and surgery, with around one day based at Kingsnorth for hospital work, two days consulting and one day dedicated to surgery.

At the branch practices, consultations generally sit at the beginning and end of the day, with surgery and medical cases in the middle. Your regular branch day means you'll get to know the patients coming through your door and can follow cases through rather than simply providing one-off cover.

There will be some sole-charge work, but it won't dominate the role. You'll have the support of the wider group and the opportunity to work alongside experienced vets and nurses. The leadership element is equally important. We're particularly interested in someone who wants to use their experience to develop people as well as patients. There is scope to take a lead in medicine, support clinical training, mentor colleagues or develop another area that plays to your strengths.

In other words, we're not looking for someone to simply keep the wheels turning... We want someone who will help us make the group even better.

The four locations give you plenty of variety outside the consulting room too. Kingsnorth sits just outside Ashford and is well connected to the surrounding Kent countryside. Tenterden is surrounded by the beautiful Weald of Kent, with its historic high street and villages. Hawkhurst sits on the Kent/East Sussex border, close to the High Weald, while Rye offers the character of a historic East Sussex town with the coast and countryside on its doorstep. All practices are well connected via High Speed rail and sit within close proximity to Gatwick airport.

A veterinary surgeon with at least 5 years' UK small animal practice experience

Ideally a certificate holder in surgery, or an experienced clinician with a strong surgical interest and substantial surgical caseload

A confident first-opinion clinician who enjoys the variety of consulting, medicine and surgery

Someone who is comfortable working independently and undertaking rare but occasional sole-charge work

A vet who enjoys being hands-on clinically and doesn't want a leadership role that takes them away from the patients

Someone who enjoys sharing knowledge, mentoring and developing other vets

A clinician who is interested in taking ownership of an area such as medicine, training or clinical development

Someone approachable, pragmatic and straightforward in the way they communicate